Sabre Wulf standard case inlay

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Neil Parsons
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Sabre Wulf standard case inlay

Post by Neil Parsons »

Hi.

I've recently purchased a curious, rare or very rare issue of Ultimate's Sabre Wulf in small case and I wanted to share with you just the tape inlay, as it was never preserved. Another difference in this release with boxed one is in the colour of cassette labels, slight clear red, rather than obscure pink or purple from the other kind of release.

You can download this inlay from here (front side) and here (reverse side). (both BMP and 300 dpi)
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Juan F. Ramirez
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Re: Sabre Wulf standard case inlay

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

Thanks for sharing. It seems very similar to the no. 2 inlay available in the archive:

Image

In this one, the letters in the spine and back seems to have been written manually, as if it wasn't an 'official' inlay. Does anyone the origin of it?

However, the inlay Neil Parsons provides seems a genuine Ultimate second-release one for a small tape, I think it should be included in the archive. What do you think, @PeterJ ?
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Rorthron
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Re: Sabre Wulf standard case inlay

Post by Rorthron »

My suspicion is that both could be fakes. Sabre Wulf was (I think) the first arcade game to use a big box and move the price point up to £10. Why would they also release a small-case version?
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Re: Sabre Wulf standard case inlay

Post by richl »

I'd agree. I'd say that the one Neil has posted is 99.9% likely to be a fairly good looking fake but it's hard to tell how good the print quality is as the scans are a bit blurred. It'd be interesting to see the tape as I think that'd be the clincher.

That "no.2 inlay" in the archive, however, is 100% Fakey McFakeface. No doubt at all.

Ultimate's whole vibe back in the day was that their games were a cut above the rest and worth paying more for. They went for larger boxes, higher prices etc when everyone else was still using regular cassette cases. There's no way they'd just release a few copies in regular cases unless they were pre-releases / review copies and if that was the case then they'd undoubtedly have had messages to that effect all over them.

EDIT: Looking at a couple of their earlier releases which were in regular cases, they all follow a very definite style template. Again, Ultimate were all about how things looked. I know the Sabre Wulf logo wouldn't exactly lend itself easily to appearing as one line rather than two without being redrawn or having to be really tiny, but there's no way they'd just type the name on the spine.
Last edited by richl on Tue Jan 09, 2018 12:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Juan F. Ramirez
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Re: Sabre Wulf standard case inlay

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

Underwurlde and Knight Lore have similar inlays that also seem fake.

But as to inlay shown, the letter font on the reverse side seems genuine (see Nightshade's scanned pdf in the archive). Maybe it's a cheaper release by themselves some time later (1986, 1987, ...). Many companies did that.

As Richl said, the clear red cassettes labels that Neil refers to can shed light on this.
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Re: Sabre Wulf standard case inlay

Post by richl »

Sorry, I edited my previous post whilst you were posting yours Juan.

I don't think Ultimate would ever re-release their games in cheaper packaging. They only came out as re-releases when they'd sold out to US Gold and the quality thing I mentioned very much took a hit as well! Also, if they had released cheaper versions then surely more people would have stumbled across them by now. I certainly never saw any back in day.
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Re: Sabre Wulf standard case inlay

Post by Rorthron »

richl wrote: Tue Jan 09, 2018 12:06 pm Looking at a couple of their earlier releases which were in regular cases, they all follow a very definite style template. Again, Ultimate were all about how things looked. I know the Sabre Wulf logo wouldn't exactly lend itself easily to appearing as one line rather than two without being redrawn or having to be really tiny, but there's no way they'd just type the name on the spine.
I agree. The Pssst inlay is a good example: the logo was redrawn for the spine, as the cover logo would not fit. The presentation is a lot slicker than either of the inlays above, which seem a step backward.
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Re: Sabre Wulf standard case inlay

Post by R-Tape »

Who is most likely to perpetrate such a fraud? Someone mucking about for their own collection or with the intent to sell on?
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Re: Sabre Wulf standard case inlay

Post by Rorthron »

R-Tape wrote: Tue Jan 09, 2018 1:21 pm Who is most likely to perpetrate such a fraud? Someone mucking about for their own collection or with the intent to sell on?
Nowadays both I guess. Back in the day the printing technology was not so widely available, so the more professional ones (eg Neil's) were presumably someone selling pirate copies.
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Re: Sabre Wulf standard case inlay

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

So I think that no.2 inlay in the SC archive should be re-labelled as 'unknown origin' or 'probably non-ultimate' inlay.

Agree @PeterJ ?
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Re: Sabre Wulf standard case inlay

Post by Neil Parsons »

I can say, talking about quality paper of the tape inlay, it seems quite similar to standard and official releases made by most of software companies in the past. If it's fake or not, there's one thing someone could do, if possible: asking to Tim and Chris Stamper directly about this issue (mission impossible??). If there would be a way to show the tape to all of you, touch and feel it... ;)

In my Twitter account I've shown the copies I own of Ultimate's game, so you can see the difference between them, except for Dro Soft edition.
Last edited by Neil Parsons on Tue Jan 09, 2018 7:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Sabre Wulf standard case inlay

Post by Neil Parsons »

I'd be glad to rework on the scans for more detail and remove blur from them. In the meantime, I've already asked in my Twitter account for any confirmation about this particular issue.

EDIT: New scans of the inlay already made, again to 300dpi and no filter used. Front and reverse sides uploaded.
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Juan F. Ramirez
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Re: Sabre Wulf standard case inlay

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

Neil Parsons wrote: Tue Jan 09, 2018 7:33 pm If it's fake or not, there's one thing someone could do, if possible: asking to Tim and Chris Stamper directly about this issue (mission impossible??). If there would be a way to show the tape to all of you, touch and feel it... ;)
Be sure if I could make contact with the Stamper bros., I'd make a more important question to them... ;)

Anyway, all this is confusing. The inlay seems genuine to me :?:
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Re: Sabre Wulf standard case inlay

Post by Neil Parsons »

According to Jesus M. del Vas (a quite well-known member of the ZX Spectrum scene in Spain) via Twitter, he confirms they are jewel versions that were sold in packs at a lower price, or separately. There is another version of Saber Wulf with a white spine that could even be earlier than the cardboard box itself.
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Re: Sabre Wulf standard case inlay

Post by Rorthron »

Neil Parsons wrote: Thu Jan 11, 2018 8:53 pm According to Jesus M. del Vas (a quite well-known member of the ZX Spectrum scene in Spain) via Twitter, he confirms they are jewel versions that were sold in packs at a lower price, or separately. There is another version of Saber Wulf with a white spine that could even be earlier than the cardboard box itself.
Arrr! Shiver me timbers and splice the mainbrace! Thar be dubloons on the Spanish Main!

Spanish pirates, perhaps?
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Juan F. Ramirez
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Re: Sabre Wulf standard case inlay

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

JMV is a very reliable source of info. He usually show pics of his tape collection via Twitter.

But when he say 'jewel', what does he mean?
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Re: Sabre Wulf standard case inlay

Post by ZXDunny »

Juan F. Ramirez wrote: Fri Jan 12, 2018 7:04 amBut when he say 'jewel', what does he mean?
Some very, very rare cassette cases were cut from single (very large) rubies and emeralds, and in the case of the really expensive version of Sabre Wulf, diamond. They were limited-run, only ten or so of each title were made and usually went to private collectors. It's rumoured that the first jewel-cased (diamond) SabreWulf is held at the Tower of London, and kept away from the public for Royal viewing only.
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Re: Sabre Wulf standard case inlay

Post by R-Tape »

[mention]PeterJ[/mention], irrespective of whether this curio should be in the archive or not, are we currently able to go around Archive.org with inlays?
ZXDunny wrote: Fri Jan 12, 2018 4:08 pm Some very, very rare cassette cases were cut from single (very large) rubies and emeralds, and in the case of the really expensive version of Sabre Wulf, diamond. They were limited-run, only ten or so of each title were made and usually went to private collectors. It's rumoured that the first jewel-cased (diamond) SabreWulf is held at the Tower of London, and kept away from the public for Royal viewing only.
Bollocks! Everyone knows the Queen prefers Atic Atac, she plays as the Serf.
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Re: Sabre Wulf standard case inlay

Post by PaulJ »

I have this ULTRA RARE compilation.. I got it as part of a recent job lot... It must be worth millions!!
Maybe some special anniversary release or something?
I was amazed at the quality when I first saw it - no doubt Ultimate always go out of their way to produce the best.

Image
Paul Jenkinson | The Spectrum Show & other stuff!
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Neil Parsons
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Re: Sabre Wulf standard case inlay

Post by Neil Parsons »

Juan F. Ramirez wrote: Fri Jan 12, 2018 7:04 am But when he say 'jewel', what does he mean?
Jewel = standard case.
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Re: Sabre Wulf standard case inlay

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

Neil Parsons wrote: Mon Jan 15, 2018 10:02 am
Juan F. Ramirez wrote: Fri Jan 12, 2018 7:04 am But when he say 'jewel', what does he mean?
Jewel = standard case.
So they're legal copies, aren't they? :?:
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Re: Sabre Wulf standard case inlay

Post by Neil Parsons »

For JMV, no doubt of it.
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Re: Sabre Wulf standard case inlay

Post by arkannoyed »

I have to say, it looks like a very nicely done inlay if it is a copy someones done. In fact, I like it so much, I did a digital recreation of it by tracing the scan, as I've done with the proper booklets that came inside the big boxed titles.

just finished the inside scan, still working on the front.

Image

PDF

https://dl.dropbox.com/s/p6q3aiv8n9y2cj ... s.pdf?dl=1

The illustrator file does have guides indicating where to fold, but I could add those to a printable PDF if anyone wants it.

The text is all a bit misaligned, so I've 'subtly' corrected it and straightened it in this version. Also moved the 2nd and 3rd pages left a little, as they sit very close to the folds. Perhaps thats an indication that its indeed a reproduction of some kind, as ULTIMATE probably would've been more careful on that unless they didn't care much as it was a cheaper version.
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Re: Sabre Wulf standard case inlay

Post by arkannoyed »

Phew!!

That took longer than expected!

So heres the front of the inlay;

Image

and the link to 27mb of fully vectorised inlay (front and back)

https://dl.dropbox.com/s/khjydwmj5bdnl5 ... 8.pdf?dl=1

I need to now do a version with the original poster art, which will hopefully give a smaller file size too!
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Re: Sabre Wulf standard case inlay

Post by arkannoyed »

I don't suppose anyones got a scan of the cassette from this release have they? Or is it the same as the normal one from the big box?
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